Salem Community College board looks to strengthen college with latest strategic plan

CARNEYS POINT TWP. — A challenging financial environment at Salem Community College has led the board of trustees to adopt new priorities and goals to guide the institution over the next three years.

The board recently adopted its 2013-2016 strategic plan titled “Strengthening the College,” which lays out key areas where SCC will need to improve to continue to remain a quality provider of higher education.

According to the strategic plan report, SCC is facing a declining student base, greater competition from out-of-county institutions, uncertainty over job growth and reduced financial support from county and state government.

College officials tallied student enrollment at just shy of 1,300 students as of this fall, down from more than 1,500 enrolled in 2010.

“This is a critical time for community colleges throughout the state and the nation. Everyone has to do more with less right now,” said President Joan Baillie.

“We’re facing stagnant enrollment and a dwindling budget... We’ve seen significant funding cuts from the state and county, and the state is starting to indicate that more cuts might be coming to help fund Hurricane Sandy relief.”

As a result, Baillie said the college’s most recent strategic plan will hone in on a specific mission for the next three years: Providing affordable, quality higher education for college transfer and workforce development.

To achieve that mission, SCC will focus on improvements in three key priorities — fiscal stability, student success and college image. The plan details specific objectives for each priority, which were identified as having the most significant impact on each area.

Some of the objectives detailed in the plan include promoting the college’s niche programs, putting more emphasis on going after competitive grants, increasing student retention, and offering a greater number of workforce development programs and academic certificates.

“This is something that we had to do,” said Baillie. “I think it’s a good plan and these are things we need to focus on.”

The college establishes updated strategic plans every three years, an initiative that took shape under former college president Dr. Peter B. Contini.

Though previous plans outlined several priority areas, Baillie said the college narrowed its focus to three priorities for this plan to help specifically address the realities of current economic conditions.

The plan was developed by a nine member strategic planning advisory committee representing faculty, staff and administrators, with additional input from external stakeholders and the college community.

The college board of trustees approved and adopted the plan last week.